Tag Archives: change

God is in the business of changing people.

Mark 2:1-5 When Jesus returned to Capernaum several days later, the news spread quickly that he was back home. 2 Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them, 3 four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. 4 They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. 5 Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.”

Everybody should have friends like this man, some very determined men decide that they are going to take their friend to Jesus so that he can be healed from his paralysis, they have a great idea that will change the mans life forever.

Too bad that life gets in the way when we are making plans. We make our plans but a lot of the time God has a different idea about what is going to happen. What they want to do for their friend will not be as easy as they think it will be. They are going to have to make some changes but they are not the only ones.

Change your attitude

Think about the man that has been paralyzed, I have to wonder if he is feeling sorry for himself because of his difficult situation, maybe he is living in fear, or pity. He might be too proud and unwilling to ask for help. We don’t know what his attitude was but it needed to be one of humility and submission.

Is there an area in your life that has you paralyzed? Will you reach out for help?

Change your method

These men were awesome friends that couldn’t be stopped. They were on a mission, they had a plan, but when they got to the house where Jesus was at they realized that they had to move on to plan b. They would have to be open to using a different method to get the results that they had wanted their friend to experience.

Who do you know that needs to get to Jesus? What will you do to get around the road blocks?

Change your plans

The guy that owns this house is probably feeling pretty good that Jesus came into his home, that is until he saw how many people were going to mob the place, now he has to ask himself if the invite was worth it. First he has the mob stomping around his house and now there are people tearing up the roof. He probably thought that asking Jesus over wasn’t going to be a big ordeal but now he has a lot of time and money invested in this.

Have you ever been inconvenienced because God wanted you to invest in someone that has a need? Was it worth your time and money to help?

Change your focus

How about this crowd of people, I wonder how they felt about this man that skipped to the front of the line to get his miracle, they could easily be upset with him if they don’t get their turn. They could be selfish and shout out to Jesus that it wasn’t fair. They needed a miracle and they could have gotten jealous that this guy was healed if they returned home in the same condition that they were in before they went to see Jesus.

Do you need to take your eyes off of your own situation and think of others? Do you think that God has treated somebody else better than he treated you?

God is in the business of changing people from the moment that we give into him and agree that we need a Savior until the day that we die. Nobody likes change but sometimes it is exactly what we need to bring us closer to God and his glorious plan for our lives.